'A terrible thing.' Topeka mayor and council talk about violent death of 5-year-old girl

Topeka Mayor Mike Padilla had been thinking all day about Monday's violent death of 5-year-old Zoey Felix, he told the city council Tuesday evening.

Padilla and council members Karen Hiller, Tony Emerson, Brett Kell and Christina Valdivia-Alcala all spoke about Zoey's death.

"There is no one in the community who isn't impacted by this," said Padilla, a retired law enforcement officer.

Police said she was found suffering from injuries that proved fatal after first-responders and police were called just before 6 p.m. Monday to the fuel pumps outside Dillons, 2010 S.E. 29th.

Mickel Cherry, 25, was subsequently jailed early Tuesday in connection with rape and first-degree murder in the commission of a felony, authorities said.

'Traumatizing at a community level,' Topeka mayor says

"A terrible thing happened today," Emerson said at Tuesday's meeting, then corrected himself to say he meant "last night."

Emerson said he had written a page-long statement he intended to read at that meeting but realized he was "not going to be able to get through it."

Padilla and council members appeared visibly shaken by Zoey's death.

Neighbors said she roamed unsupervised through the southeast Topeka neighborhood where she resided until she moved with others about two weeks ago to a homeless camp.

Her alleged assailant was also homeless, Shawnee County Jail records say.

More: 'Everybody loved Zoey, except her parents.' Neighbors say child slain Monday was neglected

"I share the community's concerns about this incident and the circumstances surrounding it," Padilla said. "It is traumatizing at a community level."

The mayor and council members spoke positively of the job Topeka police and first-responders did at the scene where Zoey was found and encouraged those watching to pray for the people affected by her death, including those who loved her.

Team to spend eight months delving into Topeka homelessness

Hiller said Monday's tragedy got her to thinking about the efforts the city is making to help resolve its problems with homelessness and keep such situations from happening again.

The mayor and council plan at their meeting next week to hear from the core and auxiliary teams the city has created to work with Evanston, Illinois-based Sylver Consulting LLC to figure out how to best address Topeka's challenges regarding homelessness.

"Over the next 8 months, the core team will convene weekly to delve deeper into this issue," said a cover memorandum in the agenda packet for next week's meeting.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Child's violent death leaves mayor, council appearing visibly shaken